SNFL First Floor: History & Transformation

Narrator: On the spacious first floor of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, a long, red carpet leads from the main entrance to a welcome desk at the far end. Above, decorative wood slats line the ceiling.

Square brown pillars line the center of the room, and a bank of four elevators and adjacent stairs offer access to other levels. Digital screens between the elevators feature information about Library programming and services. Near the elevators is a mezzanine level with an overlook. A rectangular cut-out in the main floor—bordered by bookshelves—reveals a glimpse of the lower level, which includes the Children’s and Teen Centers.

Photographs including images of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building hang on the walls, and shelves and tables display notable books. In the corner near the entrance, a few tables and chairs create a welcoming spot to read.

At the opposite end of the floor from the main entrance is the 40th Street exit of the library. Here an abstract map of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, pinpoints the New York Public Library’s nearly 100 locations. Amidst the familiar network of colorful subway lines, white dots represent circulating branches and red dots represent research centers.

Interpretive commentary follows.

Alison Stewart: As you walk down the red carpet through this expansive, sunlight-soaked space, maybe to the elevator banks near the center of this main floor, try imagining yourself browsing displays of the latest fashion trends instead of books. Why? Well, because this was once a department store, and Architect Liz Leber leaned into that history during the Library’s renovation.

Liz Leber: Department stores were built and designed to pull you into the space and to have people who were shopping see as much as possible of all the various departments, and they did that by creating exciting settings for them, different areas to go and get whatever it may be, your belts, your jewelry, your handbags, and also making circulation really easy. We were able to use some of those bones of the department store to create a circulating library that is very easy to navigate.

Alison Stewart: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library is a place to read, a place to gather, a place to think. But the heart of the library is still the people. Caryl Matute is vice president of Branch Libraries and Patron Services at The New York Public Library.

Caryl Matute: As you walk into the building, you look straight down the hallway and staff are waiting right there to serve you, guide you, direct you through the space. Right up in front are all the amazing book displays that staff and the team have put together. This is all part of the experience that we want our users to feel as soon as they enter the door.

Alison Stewart: NYPL is committed to providing this kind of access and service to New Yorkers throughout the city.

Caryl Matute: So for more than 125 years in the circulating neighborhood libraries, we’ve been a free provider of education, information, resources and programs and these libraries are spread across three of the city’s five boroughs: the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

Alison Stewart: To get an idea of just how widespread the New York Public Library ecosystem is, be sure to check out the map on display near the exit.

It was the steel baron Andrew Carnegie who championed the concept of a system of branch libraries throughout New York City. In the early 1900s he made a significant contribution that laid the groundwork for the Library’s growing network of branch libraries that today comprises nearly 100 locations. Those branches remain key community centers that serve millions of New Yorkers.